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Talk:Survival of the Wisest
Strategies???? See text below for strategy for Scholars attempting this battle at 71+ (strategy for lvl 70 (those atttempting G5 for the first time) see prior page) . . Minikowalski of Odin This fight can be hard if you are not prepared or really easy (if it's not light grimoire), remember... preparation can define battles... how well are you prepared? keep in mind that after finishing the grimoire (even if u cant do it on ur first nuke it's ok coz u'r blink from blink band can take a few hits for u so keep nuking until it's dead) gunther is a walk in the part if you have a blink band. He only casts single target spells that ur shadows can cancel with no problems and most of them have a huge casting time ie Fire III(giving u plenty time to recast it if needed), if ur HP is low cast drain and keep nuking putting ur shadows up as needed, if ur planning on long fights, bring vile-elixir and strong mp recovering stuff. Remember... if ur having a hard time without a blink band... get one... coz it can make a real difference and keep in mind, knowing how to manage ur strategems is very important... if u think ur going out of mp too fast, parsimony may be necessary instead of ebullience, if ur ok on mp... dont hesitate on using ONLY ebullience and leaving parsimony untouched 0/4 so far. First time I mananged to sleep the Grimoire and did OK. After that, it won't sleep and I die very fast. Tried doing Sandstorm + Klimaform + Ebullience + Stone IV on the book, it almost died, then Schultz healed it and I died again. Any strategies so far??? - Arngrim from Titan Scholar LB5 as lv.66 well thus far I been trying to do this LB as lv.66, from what I used with INT+36 and dark day and double dark weather gunther and the crimson grimoire did both resist sleepga and sleep II while dark arts was active, my guess so far is if you can get one to sleep take out the other ASAP then kill the sleeping one, as lv.75 this should be only 3 tier IV spells to win but as 66 you have to deal with a bit more resistance. I will be trying it some more and post my discovery's. good luck to all. Still no luck.... At this point I'm now 0/11 on this, and my SCH is a new character so I can't do G5 on another job! I'm lvl 70, with Elemental Magic, Dark Magic, and Enfeebling magic capped. A few times if I've done Manifestion + Sleep I, that put the book to sleep, but only for a few seconds. If I do a Sleep II directly on the book, it never sticks. Even with Voidstorm and Klimafrom on. So manifestation seems to be making sleeps stick a bit better, but since Manifestion doesn't work with Sleep II, that doesn't help too much. I bought a Blink Band and tried nuking the book. Almost killed it a few times, but Schutlz keeps healing it. Which means I usually die before I can completely finish it. Any ideas at all??? I can't afford Stoneskin Torque at this point, but may have to break down for it. Arngrim from Titan --You probably already know this, as I'm assuming this is an old post, but Sleep II does work with Manifestation. Do you have to do this? If you've already defeated Maat, as of the March Update, must you do this to attain level 75? Or can you go w/o doing this quest? --Noaru 00:25, 19 March 2008 (UTC) Answer for Above poster No, when you done LB5 for any other job, you will not have to do it again, but will always be fun to do none the less.. note that you will lose exp once you broke the first LB5 from now on in LB5 BCNMs. "You won't lose exp here" Whoever added this false tidbit should go die in a fire. I'm out almost 10k EXP from RR1 in the BCNM thinking I wouldn't lose EXP in there.--Evilpaul 22:07, 12 August 2008 (UTC) - I just beat it 1/4, and I didn't lose any xp from the previous losses. You lose xp if you have done G5 on another job, but not otherwise. - Tomtomz 3/8 auto-loss? I followed the strategy on the main page quite closely and won against a dark element based Grimoire. This leads to the assumption that the "auto-loss rate" of this G5 is just about 1/8: when the Grimoire is earth element based. I don't have any experiences on a light element based Grimoire, but I'd assume it is the same as a dark element based one. :: NQ Elemental Staff :: Lizard Strap +1 :: Phantom Tathlum :: Scholar's Mortarboard :: Elemental Torque :: Morion Earring :: Moldavite Earring :: Scholar's Gown :: Seer's Mitts +1 :: Zircon Ring :: Zircon Ring :: Black Cape +1 :: Penitent's Rope :: Seer's Slacks +1 :: Custom M Boots This is my gear for reference. Elemental Magic is capped at 201 and I had a Cream Puff in my belly. --SKudo 13:46, 8 December 2008 (UTC) Video I added this in case anyone wanted a video reference. I didn't do this fight, my buddy Kirbys did. --DP 06:55, 29 December 2008 (JST) Just so people don't get some wrong impression: It is a fight of a SCH75 against Prof. Schultz. While fun to watch, it is difficult to extract relevant aspects for a L70 cap fight. The part against the Crimson Grimoire is well done, with quite some smooth Dark Arts, Addendum: Black, Alacrity, Ebullience in the beginning. But that's about everything someone doing it "for real" can get, for everything else would probably not work out on a SCH70. Nuking Prof. Schultz without Tabula Rasa might end up close at 70. But thank you for the video, anyway. :-) SKudo 01:18, 29 December 2008 (UTC) Yeah, I did forget to mention that. It wasn't supposed to be "this is how you do it," but a "hey, if you failed, try this." Kirbys told me the reason he made and posted it was there were very few videos on the fight. So, since he did the grunt work, I figured I would do what YouTube videos should do. Be viewed by everyone. I hope this helps anyone with the fight, and I wish you luck. I am sure Kirbys will appreciate your comment, SKudo. --DP 11:32, 29 December 2008 (JST) 1/2 as SCH 75 Beat this in 1:18 as SCH 75. He completely wiped the floor with me the first time as after I'd cast Thunder IV on the book (which took out most of its HP), both it and Schultz cast Cure IV to completely heal the book. The Grimoire meleed me to death no matter where I ran (~189 damage per hit, hits pretty fast), and Schultz took me out with a Drain. Whole fight lasted about 20-25 seconds. Second time around, Thunder IV took out most of the book's life and Schultz cast Stone IV on it to heal it back to about 40-50%. The Book cast Geohelix on me. I managed to pull off an Alacrity -> Blizzard III which took out the book. Then I used a Vile Elixir, used Tabula Rasa, Dispelled him (turns out I didn't need to as he only had Regen), then he cast Aspir. I Alacrity -> Ebullience -> Thunder IV him to take him down to about 70%-ish, he cast Fire III on me, did Ebullience -> Thunder IV (recast wasn't done), then as I cast Blizzard IV he Aspired me again. Blizzard IV made him give up. This fight is about pure luck (he could've nuked me easily, I had 82 HP left at the end) so don't get discouraged if he makes you kiss floor on the first few tries. A Blink Band is essential for this fight (I didn't have one since there were none on AH) and can mean the difference between a win and a loss. I had a few pieces of better than average gear (HQ thunder and ice staves, Elemental Torque, Argute Bracers) but otherwise just had AF and NQ gear going. Used a Cream Puff for food. Not sure if this will help anyone, but I'm hoping my experience will be useful. Darian Cerris 17:44, September 29, 2009 (UTC) Level 70 Battle Strategy This strategy is aimed at the lvl '''70 SCH G5, and assumes the SCH has capped Magic Skill, Good/Excellent INT, and equipment for Dark Arts).' See discussion if you are 71+. *Before entering the battlefield use Cream Puff, Blink Band, and (if you can afford it) Stoneskin Torque. These will '''NOT' wear upon entering! *Upon entering the battlefield, cast Shell III upon yourself, use Dark Arts, then Addendum: Black, then Alacrity, then Ebullience, and then target the Crimson Grimoire. Macros are VITAL here, as you need to perform the above a quickly as is possible. Using an Intelligence Potion at this point may cause the following scenario to occur, so be warned: *If Gunther manages to cast Shell III upon the Crimson Grimoire, you have been too slow in performing the above, and rendered this fight practically impossible. *Immediately cast Stone IV on the Crimson Grimoire, then Alacrity + Blizzard III. If you are lucky, the Crimson Grimoire will be dead. If it is not, you soon will be! *It is worth noting that at this point if the Crimson Grimoire is Light or Stone or Dark Element, you WILL fail this fight PERIOD... If the Crimson Grimoire starts casting Ice Magic after your Stone IV lands, then cast Alacrity + Fire III instead. (There is currently no way of telling the Element of the Crimson Grimoire before it is too late. Go back to East Ronfaure (S), get another Testimony, and try over). (Just attempted on Iceday, magic skill capped at 258 with gear, Stone IV only did 168 dmg, and and Blizzard III healed the Grimoire. Grimoire element match current day? -- Nymande, 6 July 2009) ((From what my experinces have shown me as i am 0/30 on this battle the book's element appears to depend on ones opening actions in the battle..i.e 2hr from the start it's a light element. i.e2: follow stratagy above one random element.--Pikachuninetail 06:31, 9 July 2009 (UTC) ) ((I am now 0/13 on the fight, capped magic skill, Magic Att. Bonus+10, INT+17 (before food), but I am getting heavy resists on the second spell, even with elemental staves paired with the element of the spell and weakness of the Grimoire element. Repeated runs on same day have proven that the element is not matched to the weather or day --Nymande, 15 July 2009)) *The Crimson Grimoire can be of any element. Spells of the same element cast on the Grimoire will heal it. The Crimson Grimoire will only cast spells of its own Element. *Gunther may cast a spell of the same element on the Crimson Grimoire to heal it between your nukes, so be sure to finish it fast. *After the Crimson Grimoire has died, quickly use Tabula Rasa and cast Dispel on Gunther. This may or may not rid Gunther of his Shell III, which is the desired outcome. *Using Alacrity and Ebullience, cast Thunder III on Gunther, followed by another Alacrity and Ebullience and Aero III. It is recommended that at this point you use a Vile Elixir and/or Hyper Potion as required. You will not have time for Cures, and Drain is generally ineffective. *Gunther should now be at below 1/2 health. Using Alacrity / Parsimony (depending on race) and Ebullience, cast Stone IV on Gunther. If he is still alive by this point, use Alacrity and Blizzard III on him. If you have had no resists, Gunther will now give in! There will follow a lengthy and satisfying cutscene! If he starts to melee you, it is wise to run away from him. He will eventually start casting a spell instead which allows you to not get interrupted by his melee. *Crimson Grimoire has around 700 HP. *Gunther has around 1250 HP. You need to deal about 1100 damage to win. *Gunther's AI is similar to that of a mage-type beastman. He will not move into melee range until his HP falls below a certain percent, although on occasion this does not appear to be the case. *Both Gunther and the Crimson Grimoire are heavily resistant to Sleep even with Voidstorm + Klimaform. *Won in 1 minute 57 seconds at SCH70. Used the exact tactic above. Gear was SCH AF with Elemental Torque and anything else that increased INT, which put me to around +29. Grimoire went down in 2 shots, Gunther in about 4. No potions used. *Won in 2 minutes 0 seconds at SCH70 all normal cheap AH/AF besides waist, which was a Penitent's Rope (int 75+33 with food). Fight progressed as such: Stone IV followed by Blizzard III killed the book. Tabula Rasa Dispel for Schultz, then Alacrity + Penury + Ebullience Stone IV, Cure IV on self, then Alacrity + Penury + Ebullience Blizzard III and Alacrity + Penury + Ebullience Stone IV for the victory. *Won in 1 minute 36 seconds at SCH70 all normal AF with black cape+1,two wisdom rings,and the strategy used above also one Vile elixir+1 used (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) on a final note it took me a grand total of 70 tries to beat this cap...I STRONGLY encourage players NOT TO use this as their first 70 cap battle as it is frustrating and above all nearly impossible to beat at this level. --Pikachuninetail 09:21, 9 July 2009 (UTC) *Finally won on 18th attempt in 2 min 36 seconds with a Mithra SCH70, (int 66 base as SCH70/RDM35, not sure base int during subjob restriction) wearing all INT+ or MAB+ gear I could find: AF head, body and feet, Cobra Gloves, Cobra Crackows, Peni Rope, Black Cape+1, Enlightened Chain, Morion Earring, Moldy Earring, Phantom Tathlum, 2 Zircon Rings, Earth Staff/Thunder Staff/Aquilo's Staff, and Sweet Rice Cake food, giving me int+28 (+33 with Auilo's Staff) and MAB+9. Grimoire was Dark based, but Alacrity + Ebullience + Stone IV with Earth Staff and Alacrity + Blizzard III with Aquilo's Staff did 714 (411+303) dmg. Needed both Blink Band and Stoneskin Torque applied before entering to prevent Blizzard III being interrupted (Grimoire's Aspir took out Blink effect, and Stoneskin allowed only 64 dmg from melee attack as Grimoire died). Had a macro misfire as I switched to Gunther, and Tabula Rasa never activated until after first couple nukes, or fight would have been shorter. Initially entered with MP+ gear on, and macro switched to INT+ after casting Shell III, to maximize MP available for fight. Used equip change macros with elemental staff to match spell element for added dmg (+10% for NQ staves, +15% for HQ), which was necessary to finally defeat the Grimoire. -- Nymande, 15 July 2009 *I won 1/4 as a Mithran SCH70 using full AF, Black Cape +1, Penitent's Rope, Moldy Earring, Morion Earring, Zircon Ringx2, Morion tathlum, and Aquilo's Staff as the only noteable gear. Could have gone 1/1 but I forgot to 2hr and Dispel Gunther's shell. I ended up winning against the light element grimoire using the top strategy. I used a Vile elixer and Yagudo Drink inside, while eating a Cream Puff and using a Blink Band outside. Started off quickly without wasting anytime, doing Shell III > Dark Arts > Addendum: Black > Alacrity > Ebuillence > Stone IV. luckilly the Grimoire casted Protect on itself so when I did Alacrity > Blizzard III it had died without taking a shadow. I then used my Yagudo Drink and then Tabula Rasa and used dispel which only got rid of a hardly useful Regen, I then started casting between Stone IV and Blizzard III using only Parsimony and Ebullience during my 2hr and then only Parsimony when it ran out. I used my Vile Elixer at about 200 MP. I won quickly with Gunther Getting my HP a little over 300 and enough MP for a good 2-3 nukes. This was my first ever G5 so I had no idea what to expect. I found this fight very easy, although it is a matter of luck. None of my magic skills were capped for these fights. *Won 1/3 in 2 minutes 0 seconds on Gilgamesh. Mithra SCH70 using Full AF, Blue Cape, Penitent's rope, Moldavite earring, Insomnia earring, Zircon ringx2, Phantom tathlum, Beak necklace, Earthin grip, Earth/Ice staff. Capped magic, 93 int (with food+items). Used blink band + cream puff outside. Entered and cast Shell III - Int Potion - Dark Arts - Addendum: Black - Alacrity - Ebuillence - Stone IV. Grimoire started to cast Thunder III, I used Alacrity - Blizzard, down it went, and it's spell did not get cast on me. Quickly used my Yagudo Drink - Tabula Rasa - Ebuillence - Parsimony - Stone IV - Ebuillence - Alacrity - Blizzard III - Alacrity - Thunder III, down went Gunther. He was able to cast and land 2 spells on me, one ate my Blink, the other did damage to me. No elixer used, but was ready to use incase. Macro's used, very vital for survival. Battle is, as mentioned before, a matter of luck as far as the element of the grimoire is. Can be a very hard first Limit Break to beat if it is you're first one. ~Kirschwasser 8/19/09 *Stealthangel of Cerberus Server Lv70 Taru defeated Schultz on 9/13/09 in 1 minute 36 seconds (new record). I used SCH AF NQ Staffs Morion Earring, Moldavite Earring, Zircon Ring x2, Red Cape, Qiqirn Sash, Mohbwa Scarf, Morion Tathlum, and Bugard leather strap +1. Used Cream Puff and Blink band before entering. Used strategy explained above and won. MAcroes make this a lot faster and easier. Good Luck to all after me! Ignoring the Grimoire *You do not have to defeat the Crimson Grimoire in order to win. This battle can be won by ignoring the Crimson Grimoire altogether and going all out on Gunther. The key is to use a Blink Band, Alacrity and Ebullience and 2 (to 3) nukes on Gunther. If/when he puts up shell, dispel it quickly while ignoring the Crimson Grimoire altogether. *Using this strat I was able to defeat Gunther at level 70 in 1 minute 3 seconds. I did not open with a shell. Used DA > Add > Alac > Dispelled his shell > Alac > Eb > Stone IV > Alac > Eb > Blizz III > Alac > Eb > Stone IV. Hit him hard enough where a partial resist on ONE spell would have still won it for me. Used blink band and a cream puff. Earth staff was a must. INT 67 + 27 Hume. -Bandit/Phoenix *The above strategy worked like a charm, I followed Bandit's video exactly with the exception that I am a taru and he is a hume. I three-shotted Schultz, and even had one of my spells interrupted by the book, but you have to keep chain casting quickly, when I won, I was down to 170 HP, and Schultz was casting Fire III as my Stone IV went off. Went DA-->AD:Black--> TR--> Alacrity/Ebullience (had these in the same macro) --> Stone IV --> Ala/Ebu --> Blizzard III --> Ala/Ebu --> Stone IV --> casting interrupted --> Stone IV --> Win! ~Holyhandgrenade/Ifrit *Also used the kill gunther ignore the book method. 1/3 third attempt I had no 2hr so I went in did DA - AB - Alacrity/Ebullience - Stone IV. I got really lucky in the fact that he did not cast shell III on himself! Then I cast a no stratagem Blizzard 3, followed by a Alacrity Stone IV for the win! 47 seconds! I am a taru and used HQ staves and the best possible + INT gear available @70. Highly recommend this strat over the kill the book first method! - Viviox/Titan *Won on the 8th try in 58 seconds. SCH 70, ignored the grimoire. The key was staying calm and using macros for ~EVERYTHING~. Holyhandgrenade's macros work wonderfully, so take his advice! For example, when you go in, have a macro that does something like this: /ja "Dark Arts" /wait 2 /ja "Addendum: Black" /wait 2 /ja "Tabula Rasa" . Once this goes off, take just a couple steps forward to get in range, and nuke Schultz as fast as you can. Make sure you take full advantage of your macros to speed things up, since *every second counts*. Since I'm a Tarutaru, I got an evasion/damage reduction build, and I didn't worry about INT. I went into the fight with 100 INT total and nuked for 350+ a pop. Gear: Bat Earring x2 (w/ blinding potion for evasion +30. Blinding potion does NOT wear upon entering!), blink band, and melon pie +1. Borrowed an elemental torque, and capped my elemental magic. I borrowed a friend's Cheviot Cape. Due to my awesome (and cheap!) bat earrings, the grimoire actually missed me (!!!), allowing me to cast my three nukes *without interruption*. I started with Blizzard III, then the grimoire moved towards me so I switched to Stone IV for the earth staff's damage reduction. Blizzard III finished the fight. ALACRITY IS YOUR FRIEND. USE IT :D And most importantly, don't give up. If you keep trying, you WILL get it! To see a screenshot of the chatlog: http://tinyurl.com/yeepwhf -Talka/Ifrit *Won on 5h try in 47 seconds. Capped Elemental Magic, Int+40 w/ creampuff, earth grip, earth staff, elemental torque, penitent's rope, and AF. Used blink band before fight. Macro'd everything. Opened like Talka/Ifrit (above), then stone macro: /ja "Alacrity" , /wait 1, /ja "Ebullience" , /wait 2, /ma "Stone IV" . Repeated with attack with Blizzard III, then back to Stone IV. Used Alacrity and Ebullience with each attack. Stone IV did 410, Blizzard III did 345, Stone IV did 394. Fight ended. Battle is 50% luck (Resists, Schultz doing Cure IV, etc) and 50% planning. Don't give up! -Interface/Odin *I'm currently 0/6 on this strategy. My macros are exactly as described above. I've never gotten Gunther below 30% health. 70SCH, blink band, stonsekin torque, earth staff, earth grip, phantom tathlum, elemental torque, moldavite earring, cunning earring, wisdom ring x2, red cape +1, reverend sash, druid's slops, scholar AF (except pants). I'm doing ~410 damage with Stone4, 300-400 for Blizzard3. Even when he doesn't get Shell up until the middle of my third nuke, I'm still failing ;_; This is driving me crazy! I'm guessing it's because my casting gets interrupted, but it shouldn't be ending so quickly! Do you think the other one might be better for me? -Trauts 02:15, June 30, 2010 (UTC) :: I'm now 0/13 overall, and 0/10 on this strategy. This last time, my first stone4 did 397 damage, my blizzard3 did 36 and my second stone4 did only 194. Worst part is he never cast shell! Why am I having so much trouble with this? -Trauts 01:37, July 10, 2010 (UTC) * I went 0/20 on this fight before giving up and starting another job. Mithran SCH70, INT+30 with earth staff and cream puff, nearly capped elemental magic. He always seemed to heavily resist my second Stone IV. I had trouble getting interrupted by the grimoire, so I switched in my AF hands for several of these fights. Several times I ran out of MP and couldn't cast my third nuke because he Aspired me. For those who need this done at lv 70, I really recommend the stoneskin torque. It probably would have helped, if I could afford it. --Qweenneko 20:44, July 23, 2010 (UTC) ** After taking a break on this fight, I decided to try it one more time. Won nuking Gunther straight off. Had damage text off, so I can't say whether any spells got resisted, but I doubt any were, based on my previous attempts. Started off with Shell III, then Dark arts, Add: Black, Tabula Rasa, (All one macro), and bounced between Stone IV and Blizzard III. Used all AF gear but the pants, which were Seer's Slacks+1, Red Cape, Penitent's Rope, Elemental Torque, two Morion Earrings, a Morion Tathlum, an Earth Grip, NQ Elemental staves, and a total of +5 INT on Rings. Went in with Blink Band and a Cream Puff (Couldn't get a Stoneskin Torque). His book cast Thunder magic, and the only effect he got up was Protect. Won in 1:02 --Qweenneko 06:16, August 21, 2010 (UTC) Feburay 4th 2011, Beat as a level 70 Galka, I used the following gear/items: Cream Puff Blink Band Bugard leather strap +1 (Earth strap & Ice strap are NOT needed) Moldy Earring Phantom Tathlum Phantom Earring Enlightened Chain Red Cape +1 All AF but pants, used Druid's Slops Genius Ring Penitent's Rope Terra's Staff Aquilo's Staff As a Galka +INT items are an absolute MUST, I also capped Elemental magic before hand. See the video for more details Beat in 57 seconds using this strat Tohihroyu/Cuddleslave July 7th, 2011 - SCH70 Hume Defeated Gunther ignoring the Crimson Grimore as a SCH70 Hume. I had 4 attempts at this fight over the course of the week. The first went badly due to the fact I hadn't done a BCNM battle in several years, and isn't worth mentioning. The second time I tried the Bat Earring strategy for the +30 evasion; it did nothing, the grimore attacked me to death and kept interrupting me. I didn't get a nuke off. The third fight I used a Blink Band outside, and opened with Aquaveil to counter the interrupt. In that time Gunther got off two buffs, Shell and Regen I think. Took two casts of Dispel to kill Shell, by which time I was already heading towards low health. He proceeded to recast shell later in the fight as well. I died after 2 nukes. The final fight I actually won, I used by Blink Band again, downed a curry puff (I used a Curry Puff in all 4 attempts), and then went straight onto nuking when I got inside the BCNM (after Dark Arts, Addendum, Tabula Rasa, etc). 1 minute and 11 seconds later, Gunther gave up with me at about half health, although not without my second Stone IV being floored to 42 damage! Thankfully I had enough time to fire off another Blizzard III for the win. Ultimately I ended up using an identical strategy to Bandit's YouTube video. I think Schultz himself gives you the key to this fight. "The key to victory lies in the thoroughness of one's pre-battle calculations". You need to have done everything possible before you even enter the fight (e.g., buffs, gear, strategy), and then just go all out once you're there. You don't have time to think, only to act. My tips? Have EVERYTHING macroed (I used a macro set specifically for the fight with 6 items; "Dark Arts -> Addendum: Black", "Tabula Rasa", "Alacrity -> Ebullience", "Stone IV", "Blizzard III", "Dispel"). Use gear swaps where you can to increase the damage your nukes do. Know exactly what you're going to do before entering the fight (practice on enemies outside the BCNM first to make sure your macros work the way they're supposed to). As soon as you enter that arena, you need to be casting, because if you're not, Gunther will be.-- Drusenija - Asura Tried this as 85 SCH and didn't win. I guess I was unlucky because the Book was Light Element (it cast Cure IV twice on Gunther) otherwise I believe I would have won in two to three nukes. Notes: I forgot Addendum: Black in the beginning so I spent like 5 seconds wondering why I couldn't cast Water V. Anywho, went in, Light Arts, Stoneskin, Blink, Protect V, Shell IV, Rest to full, Dark Arts, Tabula Rasa, Ebullience, Alacrity, Parsimony, (tried to cast Water V a bunch of times...) Addendum: Black, Water V, Ebul/Alac/Pars, Stone V, and at this point it had all gone wrong. Gunther got all his buffs off before I started, including a Regen. Water V did 519 (I'm assuming highly resisted), Gunther was healed by the book for 392, Stone V did 471 (resisted again), I was interrupted a couple times, Thunder IV did 402, Gunther got cured 2 more times for 195 and 392, didn't get another cast off. My magic skills are nowhere NEAR capped. Before Light/Dark they're Enhancing Magic: 141, Elemental 176. They come to 306 with Arts. How to Kill the Grimoire With Ease After failing this fight 16 times in a row, I finally picked up on something that makes this fight many times easier. Enter the battle, put Stoneskin and Shell on yourself while having used a Blink Band outside. The key to defeating the Grimoire easily and in only two nukes is to begin casting Stone IV immediately as Gunther starts casting Protect IV on the Grimoire. Gunther will first cast Protect IV on himself, then the Grimoire, then Shell on himself, then the Grimoire if given the time. If you begin this battle while Gunther is not casting any spell, it's very likely he'll follow up your Stone IV with a Cure IV. This is going to prolong the killing of the Grimoire and possibly make the fight very difficult. However, by timing your Ebullience/Alacrity Stone IV along with his Protect IV, you'll get to kill it in two nukes. Note: This tip does not get rid of the luck factor involved with regards to the Grimoire's element. If it's Earth based and absorbs your Stone IV you will be in trouble. Light based will not be pleasant to deal with either. But if you do get a "neutral" element then you should have success. I failed this fight 16 times, and when I finally did win today I actually didn't take a single point of damage. I believe this tip to be very helpful for the fight and wish you the best of luck. CK011885 12:52, January 27, 2011 (UTC) Lv70 Strategy using Embrava and Kaustra I just beat Gunther using a modified "ignore the grimoire" strategy. I must admit that I was a bit on edge and forgot to take some of the actions that I had planned to do, but I still managed to win and set a record for the week. The new 2-hour spells are a godsend. Use them! I went in Windsday with Ice weather wearing full Scholar AF, Scholar's Torque (Mag. Acc.+1, Mag.Atk.Bns.+1), a pair of Dodge Earrings (2x Evasion+3), a pair of Zircon Rings (2x Int+3), and a Red Cape +1 (Int+3 Mnd+3). I had appropriate elemental staves, but used no food or medicine. My combat actions were as follows: # Light Arts ## Penury ## Tabula Rasa ## Embrava # Dark Arts ## Addendum: Black ## Alacrity, Parsimony, Ebullience (All three stratagems were in one macro) ## Kaustra (163 damage) ## Stone IV (312 damage) (I meant to use my stratagem macro, but I hit the wrong macro) ## Alacrity, Parsimony, Ebullience ## Blizzard III (315 damage) Clear time 1 minute 13 seconds. Ended the fight with about 40% HP and 50% MP. Reflections: Went great despite deciding to go on Windsday and forgetting to use Blink, Aquaveil, Stoneskin. I had so much MP left over at the end that I probably didn't need to use Penury/Parsimony. I was lucky Gunther didn't Shell III himself, which would range from inconvenience to disaster, depending on how many buffs he casts before getting to Shell. If you can manage to sneak in a Regen III after Embrava, your survivability will be even better. None of my skills were capped and I was very underprepared. If you go in with capped skills and adequate combat preparations, you won't have any trouble with this fight. I made a video but regretably it came out very grainy and choppy, so I didn't post it. However, I do have screenshots of my chat log if you'd like to see. Francomophone 22:20, May 7, 2012 (UTC) Exploiting Tabula Rasa and defeating the Grimoire I managed to complete this BCNM after 1/6 and would like to share my thoughts on various strategies and what I did. Ignoring the Grimoire is probably the best way to beat this BCNM if you have access to a Stoneskin Torque/Blink Band and can immediately run into the battle. If you spend some time casting Blink/Stoneskin/Protect/Shell, Gunther might cast Shell along with other buffs on himself and the Grimoire before you fight him. So if you cast Dispel, it might not get rid of Shell, delaying your nukes and therefore your chances of winning since the book will be melee'ing you. I would ignore the Grimoire ONLY if you have a Stoneskin Torque and Blink Band. Since you can immediately start casting nukes, Gunther will only have time for one buff, making your Dispel 100% certain of debuffing Shell. I didn't have access to a ST/BB, so I came up with another way of defeating this BCNM. I created a macro book specifically for this BCNM. The macros were for activating Penury&Celerity, activating Parsimony&Alacrity&Ebullience, nukes, Embrava/Kaustra, Dispel, and Drain/Aspir. Before entering the BCNM, at least use a Cream Puff. When you enter the BCNM, immediately activate Tabula Rasa. Before you cast any spell, activate the appropriate Strategem macro. You'll have Tabula Rasa active, so exploit it in every way that you can. Before engaging, Activate Light Arts and throw up at least Stoneskin, Shell, and Embrava. Remember to use your Strategem macro! It's important that you engage as soon as possible so the book will have only one buff or none. Activate Dark Arts and remember to keep using your Strategem macro before casting anything. If the Grimoire has Shell, Dispel and start nuking it. If you're still standing and defeated the Grimoire in two nukes, you should be in pretty good shape. Keep casting Dispel on Gunther until his Shell debuffs. Again, remember to keep activating your Strategem macro. When his Shell is gone, cast Kaustra, followed by your nukes. If you're running low on MP, use Aspir. You should be able to beat Gunther in two to three nukes. Gunther might cast Cure IV or Drain, making it four nukes. You should still have MP to take out Gunther and Kaustra's DoT will help. I made it out of the BCNM with plenty of MP to spare and 2/3 of my health. Gear includes the Artifact Set, +INT gear in all the other slots, and the Elemental Staves. Including the Cream Puff, I think my character had about +30 INT. I know this strategy goes completely overboard in complicated-ness, but I personally feel this is the safest strategy to take (if you don't have a ST/BB). My previous attempts were demolished by spell interrupts. So this is my attempt to prevent interruptions as much as possible.